Abstract:

This paper has presented a method of quantifying the Life Cycle Cost (LCC) and environmental impact of buses, and used it to analyze the feasibility of electric bus (EB) to enter and compete in a given market against established diesel technology. The findings from the study revealed that EB are significantly more expensive than diesel buses (DB), with their acquisition and maintenance costs contributing substantially to their overall life cycle cost. In order to promote EB deployment, the government needs to look simultaneously into providing subsidies for EB and imposing taxes on DB, the provision of charging infrastructure, and ensuring maintenance capability, as well as increasing the current subsidised diesel price. From an environmental perspective, the emissions from EB come out higher than the emissions from DB. The efficiency of electric power generation needs to be enhanced, and renewable energy sources and the adoption of carbon capture technology need to be explored in order to exploit the full benefit of EB and ensure more environmentally sustainable bus operation. The findings from the study showed that the promotion of EB adoption in Brunei would require extensive supports from the government in terms of the provision of financial incentives such as tax and etc.